Sea Water
by the wild semicolon
Summary: …I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they’re called feet. PaulxOC
1. Ariel

**Sea Water **

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

…

_Land or sea,_

_I've got the power if I just believe_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl, _

_I'm from the deep blue underworld_

_Land or sea,_

_The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl_

_No ordinary girl_

_Come along it just gets better_

_So much to do and just so little time_

'_Cause it all depends on whether_

_You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl_

_I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

…

**I do not own Twilight, H2O: Just Add Water, or Aquamarine.**

…

Sardines.

That is what I'm craving.

Oh, I love those tiny fish. Maybe some tuna would be good, too. I think I'll go out for dinner for awhile.

Oh God, did Abigail put sand in my bed instead of smoothed freshwater rocks again? Oh, when I tell Daddy about this, that incompetent snobby brat will be stormed from here to the Indian Ocean.

I can't wait to see it.

So I open my eyes, expecting to see my usual den of seaweed around to welcome me. Maybe my twin sister Selena complaining about her inheritance to Daddy again in the next room.

She's the younger one. Means I get the kingdom if Daddy passes away.

I love to rub that in her face.

So when I wake up, I see green dens of floating seaweed around me. Maybe little Toby yelling at Mother about his human food ("Eat it, Tobias, it's good for you") and Selena sulking in the corner. I breeze over, get the princess treatment from Daddy and the usual irritated glances from Mother, and all is well, right?

Wrong.

When I wake up, I see legions of sand around me. I see large sideways logs with green stuff on them reaching up to the surface. I inhale, and feel the uncomfortable feeling of weightlessness in my lungs.

Water is heavy, alright? When the sea folk breathe, they collect the oxygen particles from the water and the waste water goes out of our gills.

Gills. Right on the side of the neck, beneath the jaw.

But I can't help wondering what the logs are doing sideways.

I lift up my head. Oh--they're just trees. I've seen those in books before.

Trees?

_Trees?_

Oh no. No no no no no, NO!

I inhale again, praying to all the divine forces that I will feel the familiar feeling of weight in my lungs.

No such luck.

_This is not happening. This is not happening. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!_

Dear gods, Daddy, you were supposed to stop me from ever beaching! SEALS beach! WHALES beach! The future heir of the sea folk kingdom DOES NOT!

Tara of the Sea Folk Royalty does not beach. If anyone, Selena does.

She probably put the currents up to this. She was always had a wicked look in her eyes when she failed those sea-manipulating tests of Daddy's. I bet she was planning this from the start.

Yeah. That's what it is.

So I swallow, remembering the studying Daddy put Selena and I up to. I'm obviously on land, so the land folk will the dominant race here. Land folk have beaches. Beaches have water. Sea water. Means all I have to do is jump in, and swim away. Maybe do that signature tail flick I always seem to do.

OH NO! My TAIL!

It's gone. Instead I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the.

Legs…

FEET! I _hate_ feet! _Landlubbers _have feet! _Sea folk_ have tails!

Majestic, beautiful tails that swim through to water like I so wish to do right now.

Okay, okay. Tara, calm down. Remember Miriam.

Miriam Waters (two names is a land folk tradition of identification) was one of the sea folk, beached in a river (found by those pesky naiads, of all creatures) but they took the decency to make sure she ended up in a secluded place. She stayed with the land folk for a few years, then returned to the water. She kept her landlubber name, but passed down traditions and legends of the land folk.

"_Tails come and go, dear Tara. In this case, tails come when you're wet, and go when you're dry. When you're on land, and get even so much as sprinkled with a drop of water, you have exactly ten seconds to dry yourself off before you grow a tail right there and then."_

She then started muttering about seaweed and exactly how much she wanted to kill me, but I pretend I never heard that.

So if I walk into the water, I will grow back my tail.

Simple.

I walk into the water, and wobble dangerously on my newfound feet. I trip over a current and fall _splat_ into the water.

I wait ten seconds.

I feel a kind of silky feeling. Like I'm getting dumped with water, while dry. Or getting dumped with cold water. Whatever works.

I flick my tail for a second happily (it's the classic green) and prepare to swim off, before I realize I'm stuck in this two-inch-thick water.

Damn.

I wiggle for a second, but only succeed in getting even further stuck in a makeshift hole in the sand.

I glance around for a second, hoping no one sees. Landlubbers don't know about us sea folk.

Wait--I see a pretty, brown-haired woman in her chair. She had on sunglasses, so I couldn't see if she was watching me or not. I freeze for a second.

To hell with it. Screw you, pretty brown-haired woman.

I wiggle forward, getting even more buried in sand, but moving forward all the same. I squirm more, succeeding in an awkward game of tug-a-war with the current and trying to get to sea.

Finally I make in into the deep parts. I swim across the surface for awhile, enjoying the view (Daddy never lets me up here) then dive, deeper, deeper, deeper.

Sea folk have natural eyesight in the dark. How else would we make out way across the deep blue sea? Night is as bright as day to us.

I see the gate of stones, leading to my future kingdom. I nod at the guard as I pass.

_Slam!_

I rear back in just in time to avoid getting my head cut off. The gate has slammed shut.

I turn to the guard.

"William? What is this?""Sorry, Tara. Queen's orders. You're banished."

_Banished?_ My mother may not like me all that much, but she wouldn't banish me.

This is just like that dream I had once. I was banished from the kingdom, and had to live on land like a worthless landlubber. I told Selena about it and she just scoffed and called me a-Suddenly, I realize what's going on.

"William? What is this queen's name?" I ask carefully.

"Queen Selena, sweet."

DAMN IT!

I expected it, but it still sucks.

Damn you, Selena. Damn you to hell. I hope you step on some fire coral and get burned up.

She's staged a takeover! Stupid mermaid!

Now that I think of it, Daddy had some business with an unregistered kraken in the Atlantic Ocean. He said it might take awhile. Hurricanes in the area. Mother went with him--thank God.

Perfect timing for Selena.

I glance at my home miserably.

"So I'm banished?"

William nods. I swim away.

My hands darts out and catches a sardine. I swallow it, feeling morose.

No choice now.

Time for the landlubbers.

…

Glossary:

_Sea Folk:_ Mermaids

_Land Folk:_ Humans

_Landlubbers:_ Insulting/degrading term for Humans

_Mermaid/Merman:_ Insulting/degrading term for Sea Folk

…

…

**Okay, this story is weird and more then a little bit silly. But this is a challenge for myself:**

**Think of a ridiculous concept and make it into a good fic. **

**So here it is: Sea Water. Tale of Tara.**

**REVIEW!!!!!**


	2. Madison

**Sea Water **

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

…

_Land or sea,  
__I've got the power if I just believe_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl,  
__I'm from the deep blue underworld  
__Land or sea,  
__The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl  
__No ordinary girl_

_Come along it just gets better  
__So much to do and just so little time  
_'_Cause it all depends on whether  
__You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl  
__I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

…

I have made an amazing discovery.

Hands.

While I lay on the beach, about two miles north from where I originally beached, I examine them with a spotter's eye.

In the water, my hands are long and webbed, with long greenish scales on the ends. They're made for swimming acceleration and balance. My skin always has a greenish tint in the water, but in the air it's nice and white.

Human hands are long and limber. The fingers are split clearly apart and the weird stones on the end are made from the same material as the ones on my feet.

If I had ever listened to Miriam, I would probably have known what all this stuff was called. But that was always Selena's part--I take over the kingdom, she's the brainiac.

The standard outfit for sea folk: the more important you are, the brighter your colors are. As Miriam told us the legends were of us, we wore seashells as erm… clothes, I think they're called?

Well, we do. Females wear them, males wear nothing but their scales as coverage. In the air, I have nothing to wear, I realize, as I'm laying on the beach.

"Oh!"

I sit up and look around. A small, frail, elderly human female is standing on the beach behind me, clearly shocked.

"Are you alright?" I ask. Words feel strange in the air. In the water, they're echoes. I test them out. "Right. Ight. Rrr-ight."

The woman is frozen.

I simply look at her. She seems to gain control and beckons me.

"Come here, girl."

"Allll-right." I say. I jump up and follow the woman to the forest.

"Here," she says as she leads me to a long billowy white piece of air. It reminds me of water--unable to successfully hold it, but you can feel, and see it. I wonder if air is usually like this.

It's hanging above her as she leaps up and grips it.

My eyes grow huge as my mouth falls open.

"Put this on, sweetie." she says as she hands it to me.

She must be a witch--to hold air like that.

"Will I be able to hold it?"She gives me a weird look. "Of course, dear. Put it on."

"On what?"

"On."

"There is nothing to put it on. Where do I put it?"

"_On!_ Like so," she demonstrates as she spins the air around and wraps it around her shoulders. I nod and she untangles it.

I hold it (it feels surprisingly solid, she must have magicked it) and I wrap it around me like she showed me.

"Good job," she says.

I hold my head up high. Of course I did a good job.

"Now, girl, come here."

She leads me father right to a den-type thing. Solid and brown and hard, as I discovered by walking into it a few times. It's square and the top is pointy, and there is a longer piece jutting out from the edge.

"Sit," she gestures to a seat in the grass. I recognize it because Daddy has one of these-a throne to rule over the folk. He tells me it will be mine someday. This causes a warm feeling to grow in me as I saunter over.

"Where are you from?" the woman asks as I sit.

"From?"

"Yes. _Where are you from?_" she empathizes the words.

I think of what to say. I know I can't tell her the truth--land folk are so oblivious to the inhabitants of the seas.

I remember Miriam telling me about a happy and beautiful place, that many landlubber offspring wish they are from. I decide to place myself in there--after all, I _am_ the most deserving.

"Neverland," I blurt.

This causes a weird look on her face.

"You're from Neverland?" She asks skeptically.

"Yes," I nod. Miriam told me about this place, but I wasn't listening. I drifted out of my dreams about the changes I would make once I started taking charge only long enough to take in the name.

She watches me as I look around. The air still feels uncomfortable in my lungs, and I keep flicking my feet, thinking they're still a tail.

"Okay," she finally mutters. "You're from Neverland. I'm Tonya Thail." she introduces, holding out her hand for some land folk ritual I once learned of. I place my hand in hers. She shakes it and lets go.

_Humans are weird._

I nod. The proper thing to do right now is introduce myself, but I stop. She waits for a second before talking.

"How about I call you Tink?" Tonya asks, a caustic look in her eyes.

I nod. I have no semblance of what this name means, but it sounds good.

"Tonya!"

I start.

Near the edge of the brown den, there is a human male. He's dark skinned and fit, shirtless and simply wearing sweat pants.

"Jared!" Tonya's face breaks into a noticeably happy smile as she stands up and makes her way over to the male."How are you, Jared? How's Ruby? And why haven't you been by to visit me, boy? Too busy with your Kim?"

"Hi Grandma. Mom's fine. And no, Kim's been busy helping Emily with the wedding preparations."

"I swear, you like Emily more then me!"

"You do live like a hermit, Grandma. You should live more in the rez."

"Now, now," she says as she slaps his shoulder.

"Who's this?" Jared asks curiously as he notices me. He pauses for a moment before adding, "And why is she wearing a sheet?"

"Ah," Tonya says sarcastically. "This is Tink. She's from Neverland."

"From where?" Jared looks surprised.

"Neverland." Tonya repeats.

"Sorry, I don't think I heard you."

"You heard me fine, boy," Tonya snaps as she sits down. "Now go get me some water, this old woman's getting weak."

"You'll never get old, Grandma," Jared says irritably, leaving me alone for the moment. "You're too stubborn."

"Water!"

As he slips into the den, Tonya turns to me. "Would you like some water, dear?"

"Yes please!" I say.

"And some water for the fairy, too, Jared!" Tonya yells.

_Fairy?_ I frown.

Jared comes back out. He hands Tonya something and holds something out to me.

I examine the way he's gripping it. I slowly reach out to take hold--it's a clear type of material, and I assume Tonya's magicked it as well. I peer inside.

It's holding water. I wonder if it's safe for me to drink. I look at Tonya and Jared, and they're drinking it straight out of the object.

I slowly raise it to my lips, and wet my lips.

_1..._

_2..._

_3..._

_4..._

_5..._

_6..._

_7..._

_8..._

_9..._

_10..._

_11..._

No transformation. I raise it again and suck in some water. I inwardly sigh--I've been feeling very dehydrated since I beached.

The next second, I spit it out.

_Fresh water!_

Disgusting. The naiads take this water, not true-blooded sea folk.

Disgusting!

"Tink?"

I look up. Both Tonya and Jared are staring at me.

"Are you alright?" Jared asks.

"Fine," I say stiffly, then inspiration comes.

"Do you have any salt?"

…

**Okay, kinda a filler chappie, introducing you to Tonya and more of Tara/Tink. **

**I'm not very good at descriptions (and by that, I mean horrible) so feel free to rip apart, criticize, and flame all my descriptions. Also, feel free to suggest descriptions of things Tara will encounter.**

**As for Tara's character: she's kinda a spoiled brat, isn't she? And please, please, please check out some of my other imprint stories (Rogue Werewolf, preferably--I'm focusing on that one).**

**I'm stealing inspirations from Ax (Animorphs), Aquamarine, and H20: Just Add Water. If you've seen/read any of those, you'll be able to tell the similarities. I won't disclaim right now because I'm tired, but I will in the future. **

~CRYSTAL


	3. Elvira

**Sea Water **

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

…

_Land or sea,  
__I've got the power if I just believe  
_'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl,  
__I'm from the deep blue underworld  
__Land or sea,  
__The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl_

_No ordinary girl _

_Come along it just gets better  
__So much to do and just so little time  
_'_Cause it all depends on whether  
__You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl  
__I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

…

…

When Jared gives me the jar of salt, I immediately pour it by heaps into my glass. Tonya's mouth falls open and Jared sucks in a big breath of air, especially after I down it.

So much better. I can taste hints of an unpleasant burning in my mouth, and I choke a bit, but it's so much better then the fresh water. There is still something in the salt, albeit.

"What is wrong with this salt?" I demand of Tonya.

"Um… nothing." she says.

"It's _horrible_!" I insist.

"She's insulting my salt," Tonya mutters sideways to Jared. He nods solemnly.

"It's definitely not natural salt," I declare.

"Well… they bleach it at the factory?" Tonya suggests.

"Bleach?"

What's bleach?

"It's a… chemical. A toxin."

I know what a toxin is.

"They use it to turn the salt white."

I look at the small clear salt shaker and glare at it. I've never seen salt in it's solid form before, but this white definitely looks unnatural.

"It's unnatural salt!" I declare, then lean back in my mini-throne.

I observe the gushing sound that I finally realize I can hear. I tilt my head, and a high-pitched giggling reaches my ears. It's annoying and incredibly familiar.

I know that sound.

"Is there a stream nearby?" I demand of Tonya.

"Yeah-how do you know?"

"I can hear it," I mutter to low for her to hear. Jared, however, looks at me in surprise.

"It's about a half-mile away," Tonya tells me. "It drops off by the cliffs in a little waterfall."

_Naiads._

"So, um, Grandma," Jared says. "Where will Tink be staying?"

"Well, I think she'll just go back to Neverland." Tonya says sardonically.

"Really?"

"No, you idiot boy, where do you think she'll be staying?"

"This isn't the type of thing where I guess and you say hot or cold, is it?"

Tonya slaps his arm lightly, and I return to the discussion from brooding about the naiads.

"No, she'll be staying with me, assuming she has no place else to go." Her eyes light upon my blanket of white air, which I am gripping very tightly. "Which I doubt."

I'm assuming she's talking about me.

"Tink, you'll take Ruby's old room. We'll get you some clothes--I think Jared's Kim might have left some here that might fit you."

I nod. Miriam taught me about clothes--an artificial type of skin to preserve modesty and protect the humans from the elements. She also taught me about houses and such--dens made from trees or a hard substance they like to call _cement_. Since Tonya's house is all brown, I'm assuming hers was made from wood (trees).

I stand up. I have decided Tonya is most likely not a witch, since she probably would have sensed my true form and realized what I was. Since she has not, she is more then likely a simple landlubber, inexperienced and ignorant.

"Come on, Tink," Tonya says. She walks in front of me and opens the door.

Her house is rather cluttered, with clothing strewn across the floor and more seats of every size. It's one big room, with doors connecting from the opposite side.

Tonya opens one of these door and enters. She exits holding a pile of more clothing.

"Here," she says, holding it out to me.

I attempt to grab it without letting go of my 'sheet', as Jared called it. It doesn't work and I nearly drop it, but I succeed ultimately.

Tonya's watching me with raised brows, but she ushers me into the room.

I drop the sheet. I examine the 'clothes' she brought me, and attempt to remember how Miriam taught me to put them on.

I try to remember the day she told us about this.

"_Shirt goes over the head, Highness," Miriam said. _

"_The _head_?" I demanded. Preposterous. _

"_Yes, the head," Miriam said through gritted teeth. _

"_That's ridiculous!" _

_"It's not _my _fault they invented shirts." _

_I huffed. "You should have told them how ridiculous it was when you were up there. Then I wouldn't have to be doing this!"_

_"I couldn't tell them anything! If I let them know what I was, they would have put me in a zoo!" Miriam yelped._

_I scoffed. "A zoo? Those are for animals. Primitive and weak animals--like the landlubbers."_

"_They view _us_ as primitive and weak, Tara. Not to mention how many of their ships we've drowned through the militia and our Sirens."_

_"These are _our_ seas!" _

"_Not from their point of view. Now, Highness, shirt goes over the head and on the upper body. Pants or shorts or skirts go over the lower body, and they usually connect over the midriff, unless they're not meant to. Always cover your upper upper body. Socks go on the feet."_

"_Feet? When will we have _feet_?"_

_"I don't know, Highness. I am just teaching you about the ways of the land folk."_

"_I don't see why. I will _never_ be a landlubber." I heard Selena start beside me. She shifted in her seat, which I found suspicious, but I let it go. _

"_This is necessary knowledge for when you rule, Tara. If you want to be the Queen of the Seven Seas, you must learn about your potential enemies or potential allies. You might even take a human as a mate. It wouldn't be the first time one of the sea folk has done that."_

_I scoff. "Well, that won't be happening under my rule."_

_"Love?"_

"_Love is a temporary emotion. Landlubbers and sea folk _don't mix_."_

"_You'll have a hard time getting support from your kingdom if you have an attitude like that, Highness." _

Shirt goes over the head and on the upper body. Pants or shorts or skirts go over the lower body, and they usually connect over the midriff, unless they're not meant to. Always cover your upper upper body. Socks go on the feet.

--shirt goes over the head and on the upper body--

I pick up what I believe is the shirt. It's a soft tan color, but more lighter and happier. I stick it over my head and pull, then put my arms through the loops. There's a rather lot of shirt between my head and shoulders, but I stuff it down, remember what Miriam told me about 'turtlenecks'. I look down on myself. The shirt covers my upper body and bares my stomach.

--connect over the midriff, unless they're not meant to--

I lean down and pick up the pants or shorts or skirt, the second largest piece of clothing. It's a rough and worn blue material, with stitches up the side. It's long and parted in two, so I believe these are the pants.

--pants or shorts or skirts go over the lower body--

I step in them, then pull them up.

I discover there's a button to connect. I know these--Miriam taught me all about them. I connect it and step out of the room.

Jared's still outside, and later I learned Tonya kept him there in case I messed up on the clothing articles.

"Tonya," I say. "Ton-yah. Yayaya."

Words are fun.

"Tink-" Tonya stops when she sees me. She evaluates me.

I wait patiently, feeling rather pleased with myself for succeeding with no help from Tonya.

"Tink, you put the shirt on upside down."

…

After much confusion about the clothes, I am fully and properly dressed and Jared is allowed back in the house. I was given 'Ruby's old room', Tonya's daughter and Jared's mother. Jared slept in his own room, after Tonya taught me how to sleep in my bed (I usually slept on a bed of Asian seaweed--the best seaweed in the seven seas).

While I sleep, I dream about Selena.

"_Your Majesty! The kingdom is demanding what happened to the Crown Princess!"_

_William, the guard, rushed up to my sister, who was sitting on Daddy's throne._

_Selena lifted her head arrogantly, her beautiful dark hair floating in the water around her. "She's incapacitated, William. I'm the Queen."_

"_What about Mona and Neptune?" _

"_Don't question me, William." _

"_Yes, Your Majesty."_

"_And tear down Tara's den!"_

"No!" I exclaim through my dream.

"_Wait!" Selena lifted her finger, signaling her command. She thought for awhile, while I, hovering on the edge of consiousness, waited breathlessly. _

"_Give her den to Toby."_

"Tara," I hear in a sing-song voice.

"Tara," it comes again.

I feel a strange tickle on my face. It trails down my forehead into my hair.

I feel an even stranger tingling at my feet. It starts at my toes, then travels all the way up to my legs.

I groan and move over, flapping my tail at the ends.

Wait--tail?

I bolt upright, panicked. Tail, tail, tail. I tear off my covers and examine my legs.

My tail. I feel much more comfortable in this form, but as I gasp in air, I realize I can't breathe.

I scrabble at my chin, and probe my gills. They're tender to the touch, and I feel a jolt of pain, but I have no time for hurt. I attempt to bolt out of my bed and run to the ocean, but I simply flop out and land on my stomach. I try to breathe in some, and encounter nothing but light air.

A high-pitched giggling reaches my ears, and all of a sudden my gills and tail are gone and I can breathe again.

I turn over slowly and look at the two transparent forms in Ruby's room.

"_Naiads,"_ I hiss.

"You're too close to our home," they sneer. They're two girls, about my age, most likely. Their hair is floating around them like they're still in water, and the floor around them is soaked through. Their legs are barely touching the ground.

Naiads _are_ the water, they don't just live in it. The rivers aren't nearly as dangerous as the oceans, but they aren't any softer for it. Natural enemies of the sea folk, we've been warring for centuries. We're at a mutual peace right now, but aren't any more civil for it either. Naiads don't have tails, but, really, they don't need them. They move like the water, flowing, dangerous, and pretty much can appear anywhere. Usually, they would be considered more powerful then us, but, fortunately for us, they can't manipulate the waters like true-blooded sea folk. Also, they can't go too far away from a freshwater source.

"You're a _mermaid_," one hisses contemptuously.

"You don't _belong here,_" the other sneers.

"I belong here as much as either of you, Naiad," I return in the same tone.

"Not to mention you're of the royalty," the first one reaches out and a moving stream of water formed at her fingertips, hanging of the edge of her fingers about two feet down. She holds it threateningly close to me.

"We could drop this on you and leave you for the humans to experiment on," the other hisses, behind her companion.

I curl my lip at her, and force the water away with my mind. Sea-manipulating has to be easy for the future Queen.

The water blows away from her, as if blown away by a strong current, but it's simply sucked back into the naiad.

Naiads are beautiful, but deadly.

The first one climbs up on the bed, looking down at me. I see the water stretch out beside her and soak Ruby's old bed, which is in seconds dripping with freshwater.

If I'm lucky, they'll simply bring me to their rivers and then banish me to a sea I'm already banished from. If I'm not lucky... death is in my immediate future. I search for a way out.

"I remember you let Miriam reside peacefully," I say, looking up at the her.

She pauses. "Miriam Waters? The sea folk girl who beached up in Canada?"

"You know her?" the second one looks at me, more surprise and less hostility on her face.

I nod. I'm grasping at eels, I know, but who's to say this won't work? "I'm a student of hers."

Both naiads glare at me.

Then they sigh simultaneously, looking at each other.

"We won't hurt a friend of Miriam," the second one growls.

"But if you damage our waters, we won't hesitate," the first one threatens.

I nod.

The first girl stands up off the bed and slips out the hole in the wall, the one with the clear solid substance called 'glass'.

The second one stays a bit longer. She looks at me while I wait for her to leave.

We stare at each other for a few seconds.

"Emeree," she says at last. "I'm Emeree, and that was Takara."

I touch my hand to my temple quickly, which is the universal greeting for the water folk. "Tara."

Emeree slips out my window without another word.

…

Glossary:

_Sea Folk:_ Mermaids

_Land Folk:_ Humans

_River Folk:_ Naiads

_Naiads:_ A different breed of Sea Folk who inhabit the rivers/streams/freshwaters. Also known (less commonly) as River Folk

_Landlubbers:_ Insulting/degrading term for Humans

_Mermaid/Merman:_ Insulting/degrading term for Sea Folk or Naiads

_Siren:_ A Water Folk female with an enchanting and magical voice which lures sailors and Land Folk to their deaths. A talent more commonly seen in Sea Folk

_Militia:_ The Sea Folk defense/offense system

_Sea-Manipulating:_ The practice of manipulating the currents/tides/amount of the waters. Talent significantly stronger in the Royal line.

_Water Folk:_ All evolved life forms that inhabit the waters

_Grasping At Eels:_ A Water Folk version of the Human saying 'Grasping At Straws'

…

**Ok. Muse has died. I don't like this chapter nearly as much as the others, but I think it's okay. Not my best work, though, by far.**

**Next chapter or the one after that will be introducing Paul and the other werewolves. Tell me what you think should happen. I've got a pretty good plot bunny but I'm always open to suggestions.**

**Also, please be honest. I just visited another story, and it was **_**horrible**_**, like really, really bad. Harsh, but true. It was grammatically incorrect, a horrible plot, and a really lame portrayal of the characters (I'm sorry), but it's true. And then I visited the reviews, and they all said "Great job! I love this this story! It's amazing and awesome! Please update soon!" or something along those lines. And I couldn't help but wonder if they were being dishonest or they really did love that story. But I know there's no way I was the first one to think that about that fic, so if you realize this about mine, PLEASE say so.**

**Ok. Review!**

~CRYSTAL


	4. Aquamarine

**Sea Water **

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

…

_Land or sea,  
__I've got the power if I just believe  
_'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl,  
__I'm from the deep blue underworld  
__Land or sea,  
__The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl_

_No ordinary girl _

_Come along it just gets better  
__So much to do and just so little time  
_'_Cause it all depends on whether  
__You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl_

_I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

…

**Okay, I feel very stupid right now. I just researched mermaid so much more extensively and discovered a lot more words and enemies and a lot information about Tara's race. I'm probably going to keep adding to the glossary as we go on, also.**

…

"So, _what_ exactly happened?" Tonya asks, raising her cup of warm liquid called 'hot chocolate'. It's a brown/black liquid, with very small tiny dissolving spongy kind of nutrient, called 'marshmallows'.

I shrug. I'm not exactly sure what to say. "I fell off my bed."

"You fell off your bed. You _fell off_ your _bed_."

I nod.

"So that's why it was completely soaked, and there were water stains all around the floor in the shape of footprints, not to mention the one in the form of a tail?"

I shrug again. I can't tell her anything. Certainly not about my being a sea maid. Landlubbers are so ignorant.

She glares at me skeptically. Tonya found me on the floor just moments later after the last naiad slipped out the window, brought me to her 'kitchen' and wrapped me in a blanket.

Miriam taught me about kitchens. Apparently, they were the most important accessory a human could obtain, and they could live endlessly if they just lived in the kitchen. She also taught me about hot chocolate, an important form of human culture and 've both been up for hours--since moon high--which was when the river folk Emeree and Takara woke me , it' the beginning of dawn. Sea folk possess an internal connection to the moon, and since we have no way to tell time in the deep blue, we feel the position of the moon as easily as we feel the current. I don't even have to look at the sky to see the time--most likely because in our waters, it's too dark.

"What's up?" Jared yawns, opening his rectangle and trotting over to Tonya and I. Tonya tosses her head in a way that I'm sure is her old haughty adolescent self reappearing slightly.

"Tink here has a secret," Tonya glares. "And I want to know, especially if it's going to soak my daughter's bed regularly."

"They won't visit for awhile," I assure her. "I've promised to stay off their territory."

Jared eyes me in shock. Tonya looks confused. And I briefly reprimand myself for that slipup.

"Territory?" Jared asks at the same time Tonya demands,

"Visits?"

"Territory," Jared repeats.

"Visits! You've had people visiting! In the dead of night! In _my_ house!" Tonya exclaims.

"I wouldn't call them _people_ exactly," I say coldly. Naiads are elementals of sorts. Ondines. Wraiths.

"And they're not people!" Tonya echoes.

She calms down a bit.

"Honestly, Tink, you can't have people doing this. It's just not acceptable. If you do this again-"

"You're going to banish me?" I ask, for truth be told, I'm slightly worried. Where I would go… certainly not with someone else, not the seas, and not to the rivers, Athirat, no.

"What? Ban-I'm not going to _banish_ you, Tink. Really, I don't know how you got that idea. Really. I do-"

"Where are you from?" Jared demands, interrupting his grandmother.

"Jared!" Tonya scolds.

"Grandma, I don't know if the sun's gotten to you or something, but I generally wouldn't allow a complete stranger into my house and I doubt anybody sane would either. Not to mention a strange girl who you found naked on the beach, has no knowledge of clothes, doesn't know what a bed is, brings people into your house and is talking like she's in a gang of some sort. You're not in a gang, are you?" Jared adds to me.

"I don't what that means." I admit.

"And look! She doesn't know what a gang is! What are you, from the Garden of Eden or something?"

"I think they started wearing clothes in the Garden of Eden, Jared," Tonya says.

"What's the Garden of Eden? Is that a food?"

"And she thinks the Bible is a food!"

"The Garden of Eden is not the Bible, Jared. And don't you go using the Lord's name in vain." **(I mean no offense to Christianity at this moment. I myself am a Christian.)**

"Tonya-" Jared begins.

"Jared, boy, be quiet!"

Jared falls silent, and I watch with growing interest. This reminds me of the my mother and Grandma Sallisct.

"Now, I don't know what kind of person you are, but I will not allow some… foreign girl to rot here in America. Especially on the beach and naked! For all we know, she's got amnesia. She's Samantha."

"I'm Tink."

"Samantha had retrograde amnesia, Grandma." Jared says, ignoring me as I grow evermore confused.

"So?"

"It means she had basic functions but no memories. Samantha knew how to sleep in a bed."

"Actually, they never covered that. And when did you watch Samantha Who?"

"Kim loves it."

I sip my hot chocolate. It's very delicious, I must say. Sweet with an underlying taste similar to the Preffa seaweed found in the Atlantic.

"…Tink."

It takes awhile for it to register that they're talking about me.

"I'm sorry?" I jerk my head up from savoring my drink.

Tonya watched me with curious eyes, while Jared has some hostility in the air around him.

"Jared's friend Sam's wife Emily has an opening at her restaurant. Would you like a job there?" Tonya asks me, quite a bit more calmly then before.

"What's a restaurant?"

Jared snorted.

"A restaurant is where you sell people food. They come and pay you to cook food for them."

"Oh. You mean like McDonalds?"

"You've heard of McDonalds but not a restaurant? Wow, you've been isolated." Jared snorts.

It shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Miriam and I covered McDonalds several times in our lessons. She always told me to be prepared if I ever had to live as a human.

Also, a man with a daughter named Unity started a business called Thessaly--a nod to the legend of Thessalonike--and had the sea folk pay with seashells. It was rather smart, and Unity was very nice. I believe she's in the militia right now.

"Alright, _Tink._" Jared growls very realistically. "I'll show you to Emily."

_Show me_ to _Emily_?

He reaches out to put his hand on my shoulder but I swing away.

"Keep away, peasant!" I exclaim. Oops.

"_Peasant?"_ He demands. "You're the one who showed up on my grandmother's porch in a sheet!"

I find this offensive.

"I am royalty," I say haughtily. "I will wear a sheet if I please."

He shakes his head at me, which I believe means 'no'. And also disbelief.

"Come on," he growls, taking me by the arm and dragging me to a large, metal, stinky sort of land-ship.

"What's this?"

"It's-it's a"--Jared looks at me in complete surprise--"it's a car. You don't know what a car is?"

I think back to Miriam.

"Sort of a ship on land, right?"

Jared rolls his eyes.

"Sure. Why not."

Jared pulls open the side of the metal, and I spy a small throne in there. I assume that's where I sit.

Jared walks around to the other side, and pulls open another dent in the metal, using some sort of lever.

He brought out a shiny sort of stick from his 'pocket'. He sticks in a hold and seemed to twist it, after which a horrible creature attacks.

I scream.

Jared jumps in surprise. "What's wrong!"

"We're being attacked!" I cry, proceeding bend over and emit another noise from my throat. I feel an ache in my eyes and a splashing sensation on my cheeks.

I wipe at them, and to my horror, I find that-

"I'm leaking!"

"_What?"_ Jared asks, completely bewildered.

"I'm leaking!" I crouch over and start emitting a sound not too unlike the creature's. "I don't want to die here!"

"What?"

"I don't want to die!" I turn and try to copy Jared's motion of pulling open the metal, but find no success. I intend to run back to the sea and die there, among my kind. I hope Selena feels damn guilty, that stupid mermaid.

I hope Toby misses my cast-away. Brat.

"What? Who's attacking? Why are you dying?" Jared demands.

"I'm leaking!"

"You're crying."

"I'm leaking!"

"You're cr- Oh, for the love of God, that's the car. You're not being attacked, you stupid fairy. You're crying."

"What's the car!"

"That noise, which I assume is why we're being attacked." He cups his hands around his mouth bends down to yell in my ear. _"You're not gonna die!"_

Oh. Well, then.

I stop leaking, and I sit up. Jared scoffs at me and holds a strange device in front of him. He turns it as the car turns and I assume it's the device called a 'steering wheel'.

I cannot believe I just disgraced my family like that. Daddy will be so ashamed.

I sit in silence, while the land-ship moves around easily on this sort of black stone.

"What's crying?" I ask Jared.

"What you just did. _Leaking,_ I suppose."

I sniff.

Jared pulls up in front of another den of sorts, but there are more land-ships in front then Tonya's. It has singing floating through the glass, with a banging sound accompanying it. It sounds horrible.

"Emily!" Jared calls. He drags me up to the den and opens the rectangle.

"Yes, Jared?"

A pretty, dark woman trotted out behind us. I turn around and look at her in surprise. She has scars covering the right side of her face.

Finally, an experienced human. Scars in sea folk culture express experience and demand respect. I have none, as, as the future queen, I am expected to have knowledge and refrain from damaging myself before I secure an heir. Then I am allowed to do whatever in Thesslonike's name I wish.

"Who are you?" Emily asks, not unkindly.

"This is Tink," Jared says beside me. "She's looking for a job."

"Oh, yeah, that's alright," Emily responds. She smiles at me. "Lania quit after she and Paul broke up again. We'll just have to see what skills you have."

"She's kinda weird," Jared warns her.

"Isn't that kind of hypocritical of you, Jar-head?" A voice issues from behind me, and I turn to see another beautiful woman. She's got even darker skin then Emily, and I see similar features on her face. "You've got to be the weirdest thing out there."

Jared pulls up his middle finger at her. She smirks and Emily looks disapproving. I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean.

"This is Leah," Emily introduces. "_Jared, put your finger down,"_ Emily hisses to him."My cousin. She's a waitress here, sometimes a cook."

I nod.

"But Tink here is much, much weirder then anything you will encounter, Leah," Jared warns. He winces, and adds, "even you."

"Tink?" Leah asks skeptically. "What kind of name is that?"

"Yeah. She also doesn't know what a car is, or crying, so if she starts screaming _I'm leaking_ you'll know what to look for."

"I'm leaking?" Leah questions. She turns to Emily. "Should we hire her?"

"Should _I_ hire her." Emily corrects. "And… possibly."

Leah steps up to me. "Well, she's pretty," she offers as she grabs my cheek and shakes my head around a bit, looking at my features. "If we hire her, we're bound to get more men."

"Wow, look at her eyes," Emily steps up too. "Do you wear contacts?"

"I don't think she knows what contacts are, Emily." Jared interjects, but is ignored.

Finally I grow tired of Leah. I don't mind being fawned over, but this is a bit much. Subjects do not touch the queen.

"Hands off, peasant!" I say to Leah, tugging away.

"_Peasant?"_ she exclaims in outrage. "I'm not a _peasant!_"

"She likes to say that," Jared tells.

"I'm not a peasant! I _have _a job!" Leah yells, hands on her waist.

I toss my head.

"I don't like her," she says to Emily. "We shouldn't hire her."

"I like her," Emily says. "And _I'm_ hiring her."

"She doesn't even know what contacts are!" Leah yelps.

"_Thank_ you!" Jared says, vindicated.

"Thanks, Tink. You've got a job," Emily informs me, ignoring Leah's outraged face. "Come back tomorrow at eight AM."

…

Glossary:

_Sea Folk:_ Mermaids

_Land Folk:_ Humans

_Naiads:_ A different breed of Sea Folk who inhabit the rivers/streams/freshwaters

_Landlubbers:_ Insulting/degrading term for Humans

_Mermaid/Merman:_ Insulting/degrading term for Sea Folk or Naiads

_Sea Maid:_ Sea Folk female

_Athirat:_ The accepted Water Folk goddess

_Thessalonike:_ A Human female who was the sister of Alexander the Great. At his death, she was so grief-stricken she jumped into the sea after bathing her hair with immortal water. She became half-fish, half-human and passed judgment on the Human sailors of the sea. When encountering one, she would pose the same question at every encounter: _Is Alexander the king alive?"_ To which the answer would be _He lives and still rules._ Any other answer would result in death. Now a myth of sorts used to scare young Water Folk, similar to the Human myth the Boogeyman. Name means, quite literally, _Thessalian Victory_

_Thessaly:_ The birthplace of Thessalonike

_Siren:_ A Sea Folk with an enchanting and magical voice which lures sailors and Land Folk to their deaths

_Militia:_ The Sea Folk defense/offense system

_Sea Manipulating:_ The practice of manipulating the currents and tides of the waters. Talent significantly stronger in the Royal line

_Water Folk:_ All evolved life forms that inhabit the waters

_Ondines:_ Classified as Water Spirits in Human mythology. Synonymous with Naiads

_Wraiths:_ Synonymous with Ondines

_Cast-Away:_ A Water Folk term for funeral

_Grasping At Eels:_ A Sea Folk version of the Human saying 'Grasping At Straws'

…

**Okay, if you stuck it out with me this long, I thank you. I HATED this chapter. I had some serious writer's block, which is funny because it is one of my longest chapters. But I detested it, and I wasn't able to get a good version of this, so I'm shipping it out to you and start working on the next, easier chapter that my muse likes.**

**And I wasn't able to fit what Tara looks like in this chapter, but it will come up in the next. **

**Yeah, and I recently became obsessed with Samantha Who. So I had to put it in. :)**

**Okay, please, please review. **

~CRYSTAL


	5. Lori

**Sea Water **

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

...

_Land or sea,  
I've got the power if I just believe_  
'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl,  
I'm from the deep blue underworld  
Land or sea,  
The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl_

_No ordinary girl  
Come along it just gets better  
So much to do and just so little time_  
'_Cause it all depends on whether  
You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl_

_I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

…

**Okay, I can't get the muse for Tara's POV right now, so I'm giving you some Selena input. I think I rather like her.**

...

_SelenaPOV_

Predators of the sea always have tails that go side-to-side.

Take sharks. The hunters of the deep blue.

Their tails go side-to-side as their mouth go _chomp! chomp!_

Some folk have expressed wishes to meet a shark. A great, white, preferably. I find it disturbing to encounter those who aspire to face off against those sharp, sharp teeth and more of those gnashing rows of teeth. When sharks hunt, they smell you in the water, then they take a nice big chomp out of you to decide if you're eat-worthy. If you are, they'll bite chunks out of you and swallow them whole, which results in you shrinking so much that you end up being bite-size.

It's not a nice experience.

We have records of the Teeth. The Teeth were a species of rather large, large, large sharks that we assume became extinct. None of the sea folk liked them. They were rather frightening.

They died out before my time (possibly), but my great-grandmother Sallis encountered one. Wasn't that long ago. Mankind thinks they've been extinct for awhile, but really they just haven't the technology to delve deep enough to find one. My great-grandmother Sallis did.

It was her downfall, really.

Sea folk do not rule the waters. We are not the masters of the seas. We come off as it, but we are not the supreme rulers. Many a people have died facing sharks, or extensive amounts of fire coral, or even died of atmospheric pressure (rarely, and only at our weakest).

Our bodies are almost indestructible. And by that I don't mean we're made of stone, we simply can't be crushed. We can die, or be chomped through by a shark (they have the kind of teeth that were made for chomping us), but we are made to withstand the amounts of pressure our home chooses to inflict upon us. We wouldn't be able to inhabit the waters if we weren't. We are not the supreme rulers of the seas and ultimately the lands and the Earth and the creatures who inhabit it.

As my twin sister Tara is unaware of.

Tara. A brat in her own right. A spoiled, self-centered, misguided, delusional, selfish, infuriating, untalented, frosty, demanding, slackerish TWAT of a mermaid who doesn't even realize that there is an important and rather _large_ world outside of her own head! Her stupid, stupid, stupid, _mermaid_ head!

And you know what _really_ sucks? (I've studied human speech habits so as to fit in with them if needed) She's going to be queen. Of the Seven Seas. Ultimately. No matter what I do. And imagine, just imagine, how power like that will affect her already swollen head.

And that personality of hers. That egotistical, I'm-so-much-better-then-you-are-just-because-I-have-a-daddy-who-can-have-your-head-chopped-off-if-I-ask-him-nicely personality of hers.

Just imagine what life will be like here.

_"Oh, guards!" Tara calls sweetly. "This peasant who is much much smarter then I am and is probably richer then I would be if I didn't have a totally spineless daddy who bends to my every whim just because I'm to be a Queen and the eldest daughter has refused to bend to my senseless will! Kill him!"_

I would probably be dead at the bottom of the sea because I chose to kill myself rather then live under her rule.

*shudders*

See. See that there. Right there. I put that in print. The human expression of horror. Or cold. But it's horror right now. That, _that right there_, ladies and gentlemen, is a tribute to exactly _how much_ I deserve to be the Queen. I've actually paid attention in Miriam's lesson and learned how to interact among humans. I wasn't off in mermaid land with Tara, imagining how she's going to earn the hate of her new kingdom.

Or I was, just my world had a lot more class and an impeachment and my rise to power.

I know what is best for this kingdom. My sister Tara is just a pretty face. Blonde hair with sweet strawberry locks and her famous eyes that change color with the tide, she is better seen, not heard.

Preferably with a mouth sewed shut.

With iron thread.

Twice.

And a guard who pokes her with a sharp stick every time she even thinks about talking.

In the eye.

Now that would be perfection.

For the entire population. If she ever followed through on that dream of conquering the land folk with an army of dolphins like she aspired when we were little, and saw that extremely strange 'The Simpsons' parody of human life that we saw on a device called the 'TV'. (When Father was attacking a human ship, we crawled onboard and found it to be extremely interesting. As soon as the ship sunk thoroughly it malfunctioned, but I still found it funny). She and I actually got along for once.

Of course, as soon as we both were caught by Father, Tara had started spouting on about 'conquering the landlubbers and taking our rightful places as their masters' (with the dolphins). Goes to show good things never last long.

We were very small at that time. About two feet long, counting our tails.

Tara's tail is the renowned and age-old green. Mine is the newer and more modern reddish-type, **(A/N: Think H2O: Just Add Water tails)** with an orange-ish hue. Very faint.

Tara was determined. She'd got it in her head that if we could find the dolphins, we could convince them to help and take over the world. I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen after that, but we both realized (after we'd sneaked away and traveled two miles, by the way) that dolphins were too flighty, carefree, and playful to even THINK about helping my deranged sister conquer the world.

We both received a strong tongue-whipping from Mother as soon as we got back. This was the final stage of Tara's transition into the completely mental, spoiled brat world that she had conquered, and with the sheer force of delusion! And without the dolphins! Let's clap for her!

This is why (when Mother and Father went to sort out the kraken business) I enlisted Abigail, Tara's maid, to help me. We'd always been friends, and she viewed Tara much as I did. I managed to manipulate the waters to beaching her. It took awhile, as I was always severely untalented in that field, and the waters did not like to work against their future Queen. But we came through in the end.

I proclaimed myself as Queen of the Seven Seas, and I was sure Mother was to be proud of me.

It was, after all, for the good of the kingdom. And I'm serious here. Tara, hostile little bratty mermaid...

...was getting exactly what she deserved.

Karma's a bitch.

This is the human phrase I was trying to reassure myself with as I cowered beneath the teeth of an overgrown Great White Shark.

...

_TaraPOV_

I adore my eyes.

They're famous. They like to change color with the tide.

On high tide, they're an intense, pretty, red color. But they're more woven with interludes of amber and yellow. They're hard to describe.

On low tide, they're an ice blue.

Neither of these eye colors are rare to find among the sea folk—they help us camouflage in the water. The red shows my heritage from my mother's side (she's from warmer waters). Blends in with the coral. The ice is a common eye color in all the Seven Seas; they're for blending in with the water themselves. We're very self-sufficient.

Brown in for blending in with the murkier waters of the shallower parts of the Pacific. My father is native here, and has passed them on to Selena. Right little brat.

It's seven AM, and I'm woken up by the sun. I don't think I like this spontaneous heat very much.

I stand up and kick off the covers for Ruby's bed. I've been on land for about three days, counting this one.

"Tink!" I hear Tonya calling.

I open my rectangle and walk out.

"Yes?"

"Tink, you have to get to work in an hour. Get ready."

I mentally prepare myself for a minute. I then smile and turn to her.

"I'm ready."

"I mean go get dressed, you idiot fairy!"

I turn back and walk into my temporary den. I know 'get dressed' either means put some clothes on or put some more appropriate clothes on. I'm assuming it's the latter.

When I get back out and have been Tonya-approved, she tells me Jared will drive me to Emily's. (That's the name of the restaurant). I'm a bit wary of the car, but I ignore it. It'll be fine.

When I get to Emily's, she's rushing around.

"What's-" I start.

"No time, Tink! Get your uniform on and start serving!" Emily pushes an apron into my hands and promptly rushes away.

I know what aprons are. We use them back home. I slip it on and tie it expertly behind my neck.

I proceed to stand around cluelessly.

"Don't just stand there!" A hysterical waitress cries to me. I haven't met her before. "Do something!"

"I don't take orders from you!" I try to tell her, but she's already rushing away.

"It's almost opening time, newbie!" Leah shouts to me. "Get your pencil and order pad and get ready!"

I am completely flabbergasted. **(AN: That is an amazing word, isn't it? FLABBERGASTED! *grins*)**

"Hey, Tink," Jared says as he returns from the car. I believe he was searching for his car keys, which he had dropped into a puddle. "Aren't you supposed to go work?"

I sniff haughtily. "I don't—"

"Tinkerbell!" Leah shows up in front of me. She shoves a pad into my hands and hands me a pencil. Miriam told me all about pencils.

"Get ready," she insists.

When I stand there and do nothing she looks confused.

Jared interrupts. "Have you forgotten how weird the fairy is, Leah? She doesn't even know what contacts are."

Leah looks at me, then groans. She drags me away.

"Come here! You can watch and observe."

She sits me on a small throne behind the counter. **(AN: Tara knows a guy who has a restaurant back home, so she knows some of this stuff. Just clearing that up.)**

I feel indignant but realize how precious this experience could be.

"I'm doing what you say because I want to , not because you told me to," I inform her before she rushes away, not realizing how juvenile I sound. Leah rolls her eyes at me and walks away.

"OK!" Emily's voice echoes throughout the restaurant. "It's opening time! Leah, unlock the doors!"

…

Humans are frightening when they're hungry. It's nine AM, and the restaurant has already been stampeded throughly by landlubbers of all shapes and sizes.

As they walk by me, I become aware of how small I am now. Losing my tail has shaved off about three inches off my height, and I wasn't that long to begin with. The humans rushing around are much longer then me on average.

Some particularly long humans enter the den. They're large, shirtless, and they seem to know Jared. They seem to know Emily and Leah and the other waitress. They're also carrying a small child. They separate and some go off to Emily and some go off to the tables and some go off to bother the customers.

"Hey, Emily," one greets.

"Hello, Paul," she returns. "Have you seen Lania lately?"

"Yeah. We got back together last night. She's pretty upset that you've replaced her so quickly, 'cause now she can't get her job back."

Emily looks almost guilty. "She can't go off and quit every time you two break up, Paul," she says. "But I'm almost thinking it might be better to rehire her instead of this new girl. She's _really_ strange."

"Strange is good. Strange is relative. And I'm gonna meet her."

Emily rolls her eyes. "I remember when you were so young and innocent. Now you're off charming all my waitresses. She's over there."

Emily points to me. I'm looking down at my feet, wriggling them in their shoes. I believe these are called 'flip-flops'. It's a ridiculous name, and I'm starting to see why Selena was so stressed all the time. Studying this stuff must have been difficult. Luckily I don't have to do that.

It's low tide right now. My eyes are icy.

"Hi," the large landlubber greets. He holds out his hand for the shaking ritual. "I'm Paul."

I look at him. "I'm Tink."

I don't like my alias.

Paul looks at me, and gasps.

I look at him.

He looks at me.

I look at him.

He looks at me.

…

Glossary:

_Sea Folk:_ Mermaids

_Land Folk:_ Humans

_Naiads:_ A different breed of Sea Folk who inhabit the rivers/streams/freshwaters

_Landlubbers:_ Insulting/degrading term for Humans

_Mermaid/Merman:_ Insulting/degrading term for Sea Folk or Naiads

_Sea Maid:_ Sea Folk female

_Athirat:_ The accepted Water Folk goddess

_Thessalonike:_ A Human female who was the sister of Alexander the Great. At his death, she was so grief-stricken she jumped into the sea after bathing her hair with immortal water. She became half-fish, half-human and passed judgment on the Human sailors of the sea. When encountering one, she would pose the same question at every encounter: _Is Alexander the king alive?"_ To which the answer would be _He lives and still rules._ Any other answer would result in death. Now a myth of sorts used to scare young Water Folk, similar to the Human myth the Boogeyman. Name means, quite literally, _Thessalian Victory_

_Thessaly:_ The birthplace of Thessalonike

_Siren:_ A Sea Folk with an enchanting and magical voice which lures sailors and Land Folk to their deaths

_Militia:_ The Sea Folk defense/offense system

_Sea Manipulating:_ The practice of manipulating the currents and tides of the waters. Talent significantly stronger in the Royal line

_Water Folk:_ All evolved life forms that inhabit the waters

_Ondines:_ Classified as Water Spirits in Human mythology. Synonymous with Naiads

_Wraiths:_ Synonymous with Ondines

_Cast-Away:_ A Water Folk term for funeral

_Grasping At Eels:_ A Sea Folk version of the Human saying 'Grasping At Straws'

...

**Okay, that was a very stupid ending. But still. IMPRINTING!**

**I don't like this chapter's Tara very much. I don't think I was able to capture her character really well (I was still in Selena mode).**

**I'm going to explain Selena's actions for you people. She's the younger twin, and has been overlooked by her father in favor of Tara. (Notice how Tara calls him Daddy and Selena doesn't) She's shark-phobic, smart, and knows how to run the kingdom in order for it to be at its best. She's aware of this. She's got a lot to hold against Tara. This is her temporary revenge. **

**This chapter started out as completely Tara, but I realized that it wasn't sounding like her. So I made it Selena talking. Hope you liked it, and tell me what you think! **

**Rosalie and Leah are my all-time favorite characters. So there's going to be a lot of Leah, and you'll probably see more of Rosalie then the other vampires.  
**

**And is it snuck or sneaked? Leaped or leapt? I'M CONFUSED!  
**

**Okay, peeps, REVIEW!**

~CRYSTAL


	6. Lucia

**Sea Water **

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

...

_Land or sea,  
I've got the power if I just believe_  
'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl,  
I'm from the deep blue underworld  
Land or sea,  
The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl_

_No ordinary girl _

_Come along it just gets better  
So much to do and just so little time_  
'_Cause it all depends on whether  
You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl_

_I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

…

After a long, strange, unintentional staring contest I look away.

Humans are weird.

"H..." the human says.

I don't know what this means.

"Hi," he says.

"Hello," I respond.

"Paul!"

The waitress I do not know bounds out to Paul. She's smiling widely.

"Can I talk to you... over there?"

No!

I feel rather attached to this Paul.

Paul. P-hual. Puh-haul.

Strange word, Paul is.

"Later, Kim," Puh-haul says, not looking away from me. I feel the urge to call Daddy, but quickly quash it. As if this ignorant landlubber could do anything to me.

Plus, there's also the fact that Daddy's miles and miles away, probably fighting for his life with Mother dearest.

In a hurricane.

I hope he's alright. It would be a shame for him to leave Selena in charge of the oceans and me stuck on land.

Phfft, he's fine. Daddy's experienced with krakens. Especially untrained ones.

"So... you're Tink," Puh-haul says, leaning on his arm against the side of the den. I find this strange. Is he required to hold the wall up or something?

"Yes, I am," I inform him. "I'm Tink."

"Oh. That's a nice name."

"Thank you," I reply.

I then look away, signaling the end of the conversation.

"I like the name Tink," he offers feebly.

I nod at him tersely. He opens his mouth to say more.

_Athirat_, land folk are slow.

I don't pay attention as he begins to talk more. I doubt he could say anything of interest.

"Tinkerbell!" Leah snaps suddenly.

I hear her and assume she's talking to me.

"Who's Tinkerbell?" I wonder.

"You're Tinkerbell," Puh-haul says.

Leah appears in front of me. She's rather fast.

"Paul, I need to speak to you." Leah says angrily.

"Later, Leah."

"_Now_, Paul."

"_Later_, Leah."

"God, you're slow. Now!"

Finally somebody who agrees with me.

Puh-haul holds his hands up, in a gesture of surrender. He follows Leah outside the den but turns around to me.

"I'll see you later, Tink," he rapidly closes one eye and opens it.

Does he have something in his eye?

I wouldn't be surprised. Landlubbers' eyes are very susceptible to minor injuries like that. With just one set of eyelids, they must have to routinely wash out their eyes.

_Our_ eyes are more modern, with a side-blinking transparent set of lids we have closed all the time. Even in human form, I have two sets.

At least I haven't lost that.

...

From my observations, land folks' restaurants have waitresses, who run around taking the demands of the customers'. They then take the orders to the 'cook', where they 'cook' the food and the waitresses take it back. The customers' pay (with weird little strips of green... strips.) It's all very weird and strange.

Apparently land folk can't digest their food when it's not 'cooked'. They can't eat raw food (I've actually seen a woman throw up her food after accidentally eating an undercooked piece of fish) they hate the sight of bloody meat, and they explicitly ask for their food non-rotted.

It's ridiculous. And they call themselves carnivores?

Please.

Let me list it out for you:

Carnivores like their meat raw.

They can digest their food bloody.

And they don't mind rotten meat. (Sea folk eat rotten fish sometimes when they can't find schools on their own--I've never had to, of course, I get the first pick at the banquets).

They're not even omnivores. Strict herbivores.

I've heard of landlubbers cooking. It's silly, really. They're cheating to the top of the food chain, using an element called 'fire'.

It's probably a myth. A substance that burns things to the ground, emits extreme heat and yet can't be touched?

Sounds like the ramblings of an old sailor with too much to drink.

(Selena taught me that expression).

Leah's been snapping orders at me, but I've been ignoring her. I've been examining my hands again.

Really, these are very strong hands. And agile. I've seen Leah catch a whole stack of plates thrown to her by someone named Quil. (She screamed at him for awhile afterwards--it was very exciting).

I'm thinking all the tall men know these waitresses, or are romantically involved. I saw one of them pick up each Leah, Emily, and Kim (respectively) and swing them around the den.

I'm still sitting at the counter, bored. I can see what the strange men in white coats are doing through a hole in the wall, and it's confusing. They're putting bowls of different meats on a red/black ringed circle and turning a knob. I guess it's something to do with preparing the food.

Thinking about eating has reminded me that I'm starting to get hungry. As a sea maid, I haven't eaten for about a week (save that sardine I caught last time I was in the ocean). Sea folk don't waste food. We digest every bit of the fish, not a piece going to waste. It's why the sea hasn't run out of inhabitants as of yet.

Really, I think I want some fresh cuttlefish right now. (Fresh fish: newly born). I wonder if it's the season for the Giants.

Maybe later I'll go swimming. Not many sea folk like the shallow waters, only the odd ones who want a certain fish. So I'll probably be safe there.

I see that Paul has joined the tall men again, and I curse my current small height. It's demeaning, to be so small in comparison to a _landlubber_.

But I reassure myself.

Someday I'll rule them all.

When Daddy gets back.

...

Glossary:

_Sea Folk: _Mermaids

_Land Folk: _Humans

_Naiads: _A different breed of Sea Folk who inhabit the rivers/streams/freshwaters

_Landlubbers: _Insulting/degrading term for Humans

_Mermaid/Merman: _Insulting/degrading term for Sea Folk or Naiads

_Sea Maid: _Sea Folk female

_Athirat: _The accepted Water Folk goddess

_Thessalonike: _A Human female who was the sister of Alexander the Great. At his death, she was so grief-stricken she jumped into the sea after bathing her hair with immortal water. She became half-fish, half-human and passed judgment on the Human sailors of the sea. When encountering one, she would pose the same question at every encounter: _Is Alexander the king alive?" _To which the answer would be _He lives and still rules. _Any other answer would result in death. Now a myth of sorts used to scare young Water Folk, similar to the Human myth the Boogeyman. Name means, quite literally, _Thessalian Victory _

_Thessaly: _The birthplace of Thessalonike

_Siren: _A Sea Folk with an enchanting and magical voice which lures sailors and Land Folk to their deaths

_Militia: _The Sea Folk defense/offense system

_Sea Manipulating: _The practice of manipulating the currents and tides of the waters. Talent significantly stronger in the Royal line

_Water Folk: _All evolved life forms that inhabit the waters

_Ondines: _Classified as Water Spirits in Human mythology. Synonymous with Naiads

_Wraiths: _Synonymous with Ondines

_Cast-Away: _A Water Folk term for funeral

_Grasping At Eels: _A Sea Folk version of the Human saying 'Grasping At Straws'

...

**Okay, I really hope I'm not boring you all with these random facts about Tara's race. It's just necessary for you to get these things before we get to the really good parts. Next chapter we're getting on with the story.**

**Ok, sorry for not updating sooner. I got stuck on the winking part (lol). Couldn't think of anything.  
**

**And I know I had Tara going "Oh my God!" in the first chapter, but ignore that she ever said stuff like that. The accepted Water Folk goddess is Athirat, so she's going to be going "Athirat hates me!" or something like that. Focus on the Athirat. **

**Oh, and in some really, really, really old texts Athirat is three times called **_ʼaṯrt ym_, _ʼAṯirat yammi_,**, which is translated into "Athirat of the Sea" or more accurately "She who treads on the sea". :) Just thought I'd share that with you.**

**And as for inspirations, credit goes to:**

**Ax-Animorphs  
Anya-Buffy the Vampire Slayer  
Aquamarine  
H20: Just Add Water  
Ariel-The Little Mermaid  
Ingo**

**And I've decided to start posting a Quote Of The Update on here. Every time I update, there will be a new quote. Some are popular, some are not, and most likely none of them will be relating to the chapter.**

Today's Quote Of The Update is:

_"That guy in jail killed giants, I'm not impressed."_ ----Puck, Sisters Grimm, The Fairy-tale Detectives

**Oh, and for those of you that can bear to read Harry Potter, can you please check out my oneshot 'Home Is Where The Heart Is'??? I'd really love some feedback on it. It's one of my attempts at an angst, and I'm not really confident in that area. And also people, please check out 'Famous Last Words'. I'm focusing on Sea Water and FLW right now. And Rogue Werewolf, when I finally get the inspiration to write.**

**I'm also working on a seperate project, a Harry Potter multi-fic. Hopefully it won't be up until Famous Last Words is finished, but you never know.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed. **

**Review!**

~CRYSTAL


	7. Sui May

**Sea Water**

…I have two ugly, flabby sticks with a deformed patch of skin about halfway down. They have little flappers on the end, with even tinier sticks with weird clear stones on the ends. I think they're called feet. PaulxOC

...

_Land or sea,  
I've got the power if I just believe_  
'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl,  
I'm from the deep blue underworld  
Land or sea,  
The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl_

_No ordinary girl _

_Come along it just gets better  
So much to do and just so little time_  
'_Cause it all depends on whether  
You want to live and learn of what's behind_

'_Cause I'm no ordinary girl_

_I'm from the deep blue underworld_

--Theme Song of H2O: Just Add Water

...

Today, I had my first experience with fire.

I always supposed it was a myth. Fire--ridiculous. Really.

Selena once said to me, she said,

"Tara, someday you willl wash up on the beach and not even the very most adept spotter will spot you. Not even the most squid-squirted, shark-eaten, obese, humpback, blue, piranha swatting merperson will be able to even sympathize with you. Not for a shark-jawed moment, because you will currently be burning up with a flam-cuttle eating fate worse than."

It was during one of her most talkative days. Selena usually never had that much of a dirty mouth. I remember Daddy yelled at her for thirty minutes straight--even I could barely believe she had used those words. But it's all in the past, now, of course.

My encounter with fire occurred after my meal, unfortunately. My couple catfish are still literally churning in my stomach after that rush of adrenaline.

I'm still not quite used to these outrageous hormones. It's a squid-squirting shame they aren't as balanced at the sea peoples'. We never got a shock of adrenaline unless it was a complete and dire threat which would normally result in immediate death.

See, I had finally managed to slip away from Tonya and Jared (who was still inhabiting with Tonya, unfortunately) using an excuse I had heard multiple times from both Tonya _and_ Jared--"I have to go bathroom."

Still unfamiliar with what shark-jawed thing a bathroom was, nevertheless I decided it was time for drastic measures. I was literally starving.

When sea folk don't get the necessary nutrients on time, our organs really start eating each other. It's horrifying, because by the time you're finally free of enough pain to eat again, you'll just choke it up because your organs don't take food anymore. They're kind of... gone.

It's scary. Which is why after much deliberating, I found a cliff where it held a great view of the sea. I could tell it was safe to swim in--too close to the naiads' territory, and far enough into the salt that the river folk would shy away.

Still a bit afraid of cliffs--I'd never encountered heights before--a fall was something completely unfamiliar--it took exactly four minutes and sixty-two seconds for me to jump.

I swear, it was like Athirat herself had created these waters. I had missed the salt, and I could tell my skin was re-hydrating, finally. I'd tried pouring salt on it to rid it of its eerie green tint, but to no avail. I needed the real salt--not these strange bleached... _mutants._

I went a bit farther than originally intended, but I caught quite a bit of catfish. I should suggest the sea folk hunt in shallow waters more often--quite satisfying.

The whiskers of the catfish caught in my teeth, but it was fine. It was no worse than the time Selena tried to eat the weirdly-padded thing we found floating up near the surface. It was very, very dead, and ver, very smelly. But I dared Selena to eat it, and she got sick and we got in trouble.

I've not been up this close to the land folk since. Father forbid it, after Selena was den-ridden for twelve days straight. Miriam told me the thing she tried to eat was called 'a bird'. A very strange and unfamiliar landlubber creature, which looks rather frightening.

A hard, pokey rock in its face, and little sharp claws which would no doubt stick in your skin? Scary. I don't understand how landlubbers tolerate them day after day--from what I've heard of them, they annihilate every threat that so much as swims past.

Anyway, after I was done with my hunting, I found it quite hard to build up the want to return to the lands. I did not want to so much as see a piece of dry sand again. But when I found a very mean dolphin who found it appropriate to sidle up and bop my very-sensitive-to-pain gills, I decided that the water was not the worth the pain it would take for me to continue to inhabit the waters without any servant help.

So I purposefully beached myself. It was horrible.

The sand got stuck in my scales, the crabs began to attempt to scratch my skin, and then I realized that I had washed up on a public beach, about a four hours swim south from where I intended to beach.

After the little children stopped screaming, I threw a crab at one of the humans who dared to approach me. He pretty much began sobbing. Apparently I was in California.

When I got back to La Push, Tonya was sitting on the beach, so I was unable to wash up there. About half a mile down, I found this amazing little cave, which was submerged but had quite a few openings which gave me enough air to breathe once I assumed human form. It had a pool on the floor, which was deep enough so when the tide went down and I could walk outside without getting wet, the pool stayed full of salty water. Quite nice.

Apparently when I shifted forms, if I had clothes on, when I transformed back into the human form, they were still there. Shoes and everything.

Tonya was very, very incensed when I got back. It had been early morning when I left, still dark, and now it was about 7:30 PM. Hmm. Apparently time goes faster when you're swimming.

Tonya was yelling at me, and I guess I had also missed out on my 'job'. Whoops. I then had the night shift--Emily's was open all night Mondays through Fridays. I had extensively studied the days of the week with Miriam--it was the only lesson she was completely adamant on me learning. 'The most important' she told me.

Anyways, I 'pulled the night shift', in Leah's words. When she handed me the keys, which I though was unnecessary, seeing as it was always open for the day, she yawned quite a bit, so I assumed it was tiring.

It was. I barely did any work, but by midnight I was slumped over the counter, falling asleep.

I'm still not used to this body's constant demand for sleep, water, food. Because sea folk are always hydrated, and usually fed, we usually only had to sleep every 73 hours. But for the humans...? a temporary coma every 24 hours. Ridiculous.

Ridiculous.

Alas, by 3 AM even the cook had fallen asleep. I knew because I could hear him snoring.

His snores were ridiculously loud, so I was unable to sleep. Finally deciding to walk over the shake him awake, I stepped into the kitchen.

It was like... a torture room. Knives, cleavers, even a small drill I just _knew_ was for sucking out your brain, it had every interrogation instrument, known and unknown.

When I came face-to-face with a particularly sharp knife, I stumbled away, hitting a strange white thing, and turning a small knob.

Without warning, a blue, toxic-looking, flickering sort of thing flew up. It circled around a small black ring, and, curious, I touched it.

I screamed.

I heard the cook's snores abruptly cut off, and I heard a few crashes. With wild eyes, the plump round man hurried up and demanded of me,

"What happened? Are you all right?"

"No!" I screeched. I showed him my hand, where two of my faboulously limber fingers where completely covered in welts. Already.

His eyes went wide, and he looked around. When he turned back, he was exasperated.

"That's it?"

"That's _it_?!" I shrieked. "These are royal hands, you landlubber! I want a healer! Now!"

"Sweetheart, it's only a burn. You shoulda known better than to touch some fire."

"That was fire?" I asked, tantrum forgotten. With a hushed voice, I said,

"It really exists?"

He looked at me weirdly.

"I'll call Tonya. Emily won't mind if we close up early, I guess. There's no business anyway." he said, deciding not to pay my coment any attention.

With tears running down my face, I sniffled and walked after the round man.

When Tonya came, she was just as confused with my unfamiliarity with fire. I suppose I should be more subtle in the future.

Right now, I'm sitting on the bed while Tonya wraps up my hands in a strange white cloth of sorts. When the Paul man comes crashing through Ruby's door.

He hurries to me, while I watch him strangely.

"Tink," he says. "Tink, are you alright?"

I blink at him bemusedly.

"Of course," I say.

I'm royalty. We're not defeated by a simple blue flicker, no matter how painful it is.

He lets out a bit of air, then stands straighter.

Tonya's watching him, I note.

"Have you broken up with Lania yet, boy?" she asks.

He glances at me embarrassedly. "Not yet," he mutters."She's in Seattle."

"Make sure you do. This girl--she's a handful."

Me or this... Lania?

Who's Lania? A ridiculous name--no wonder I haven't seen her yet.

With a name like that, I'd be hiding under a rock too.

I'll ask later. Right now, I must ponder about my enoucounter with fire.

Farewell, peasants.

...

Glossary:

_Sea Folk: _Mermaids

_Land Folk: _Humans

_Naiads: _A different breed of Sea Folk who inhabit the rivers/streams/freshwaters

_Landlubbers: _Insulting/degrading term for Humans

_Mermaid/Merman: _Insulting/degrading term for Sea Folk or Naiads

_Sea Maid: _Sea Folk female

_Athirat: _The accepted Water Folk goddess

_Thessalonike: _A Human female who was the sister of Alexander the Great. At his death, she was so grief-stricken she jumped into the sea after bathing her hair with immortal water. She became half-fish, half-human and passed judgment on the Human sailors of the sea. When encountering one, she would pose the same question at every encounter: _Is Alexander the king alive?" _To which the answer would be _He lives and still rules. _Any other answer would result in death. Now a myth of sorts used to scare young Water Folk, similar to the Human myth the Boogeyman. Name means, quite literally, _Thessalian Victory _

_Thessaly: _The birthplace of Thessalonike. Since it birthed her, it is now recognized as the Water Folk hell.

_Water Folk: _All evolved life forms that inhabit the waters

...

**Okay, haven't updated for awhile. So sorry. But I couldn't get the right muse. I realize this chapter could have used some more dialogue, but I couldn't get it in there. It also hasn't been edited much, and I'm realizing I might want a beta. I haven't found the need for one before, because I like editing my own work, but tell me how the writer/beta thing goes. I'm CONSIDERING.  
**

**Okay, so I need you peoples' opinions. How old should I make Tara? I've avoided stating her age yet, but I need to know if she's going to go to school or not. There's a poll on my profile. If you drop a review saying what age, I won't count it. I need people to vote on the poll. **

**I've also put in some water folk curse words. I'm not putting them on the glossary because I'm sure y'all can tell what they are. The humpback and blue curses were references to the whales. The flam-cuttle was a reference to the poisonous flamboyant cuttlefish. Which are really teeny. I like them, so I put a comment in here. My favorite curse: piranha-swatting. :)**

**For those people who think the eyes thing and the sleeping thing are the makings of a Mary Sue--they're not. They're there for a reason. But I'm not saying what. be patient.**

Today's Quote Of The Update:

From Friends, The One With Phoebe's Cookies

Monica: "No! Why didn't you make a copy, and keep it in a fireproof box, and keep it _at least_ a hundred yards away from the original?!"  
Phoebe: "Because I'm normal!"

**So review. Please. And vote. But review first. Please.**

~CRYSTLA


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, I'm rewriting this story.

I feel like I'm just dancing around with Tara's real thoughts, and I can't get any grip on the actual story. I just don't like this story, the way it came out, the way it's going. Tara is just not a character I can write.

The first chapter of the rewrite will be up about... now. Check out my profile if you think this story would have had potential if I hadn't messed up so badly. It's called _Two If By Sea._

~CRYSTAL


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